390 BUFF-BREASTED MERGANSER. 



she crouches closer upon her eggs. Alarm her not, or she will soon depart. 

 There she croaks, and scrambling off through the tall grass, flies off on rapid 

 wings. Look at the nest! count the eggs if you choose, but allow me, if 

 you please, to describe them. 



The islands on which the Goosander is wont to breed are mostly small, as 

 if selected for the purpose of allowing the sitting bird to get soon to the 

 water in case of danger. The nest is very large, at times raised seven or 

 eight inches on the top of a bed of all the dead weeds which the bird can 

 gather in the neighbourhood. Properly speaking, the real nest, however, is 

 not larger than that of the Dusky Duck, and is rather neatly formed 

 externally of fibrous roots, and lined round the edges with the down of the 

 bird. The interior is about seven and a half inches in diameter, and four 

 inches in depth. There are seldom more than seven or eight eggs, which 

 measure two inches and seven-eighths in length, by two inches in breadth, 

 are of an elliptical form, being nearly equally rounded at both ends, smooth, 

 and of a uniform dull cream-colour. The young are led to the water in a 

 few hours after they are hatched, and are covered with fur-like hair, of a 

 reddish-brown colour about the head and neck, the body lightish grey. 

 They are excellent divers, and run on the surface with surprising velocity; 

 but they are not able to fly for nearly two months, when, being fat, they are 

 easily fatigued if closely pursued, and on such occasions will often betake 

 themselves to the shore, lie down, and even allow you to lay hold of them. 

 My friend Thomas Nuttall has given an interesting account of his chase of 

 a brood of Goosanders. 



"Early in the month of May, 1832, while descending the Susquehanna 

 near to Dunstown, a few miles below the gorge of the Alleghanies, through 

 which that river meanders near the foot of the Bald Eagle Mountain, G. 

 Lyman, Esq. and myself observed, near the head of a little bushy island, 

 some Wild Duck, as we thought, with her brood making off round a point 

 which closed the view. On rowing to the spot, the wily parent had still 

 continued her retreat, and we gave chase to the party, which with all the 

 exertions that could be made in rowing, still kept at a respectful distance 

 before us. We now perceived that these diminutive possessors of their natal 

 island were a female Goosander or Dun Diver, with a small but active little 

 brood of eight young ones. On pushing the chase for near half an hour, the 

 young, becoming somewhat fatigued, drew around their natural protector, 

 who now and then bore them along crowding on her back. At length, 

 stealing nearly from our sight, as the chase relaxed, the mother landed at a 

 distance on the gravelly shore, which being nearly of her own grey colour 

 and that of her family, served for some time, as a complete concealment. 

 When approached again, however, they took to the water, and after a second 



